Complete Teresahttps://completeteresa.com
My views on news and issues affecting those who are LGBT
Mon, 21 Jan 2019 01:56:34 +0000 en
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1 http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/69ec895e80288bb8e35463f93f16e507?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngComplete Teresahttps://completeteresa.com
What is a Personal Identity or a Sense of Self?https://completeteresa.com/2018/01/10/what-is-gender-identity/
https://completeteresa.com/2018/01/10/what-is-gender-identity/#respondWed, 10 Jan 2018 22:50:26 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1422Continue reading →]]>Normally reading the comments on any article dealing with transgender issues is a mistake but I sometimes feel compelled to do so. I forget what the story was about, but I found one comment intriguing. This was a cis person who commented saying he didn’t have a gender identity and I found this strange. Obviously, it was said to invalidate the transgender experience. It wasn’t until sometime after that I was thinking of our personal identities where gender identity usually plays a small role.

There isn’t a lot of information on personal identities on the internet, but I found what I was looking for on a website on brain injuries that explained everything nicely. The website is Learnet which is A Resource for Teachers, Clinicians, Parents, and Students by the Brain Injury Association of New York State. This site contains a number of tutorials on the brain and one subject was What is Sense of Self.

It started off with something that I already knew and that is everyone has a personal identity. On top of that there are a number of ways we think about ourselves that combine into our personal identity. It includes roles, attributes, behaviors and associations that we consider important. These associations can be based on a number of aspects that combine to create person we believe ourselves to be.

I’m ex-military and before I retired I attended seminars to prepare me for life after the military. One of the presentations pointed out that after retirement I could no longer identify myself as a tech in the RCAF. As it turns out I can identify as a veteran but that’s not the same. The important thing to understand is we all identify ourselves by our occupations. If you are a teacher, doctor, lawyer, or plumber you may self-identify as the job you have.

The website didn’t include gender as part of a person’s self-identity but it’s important because it is present in the associations that follow. Obviously, I had a problem with my gender identity to the point that I felt the need to legally and medically change my gender. If a person doesn’t have a problem with their gender identity, then it may not be considered relevant, but I disagree and that will come out in great detail when we get to the associations that follow.

Next are social relationships. These include being a husband or wife, a friend or colleague of another person. While my gender identity may have been that of a woman I have to admit a portion of my personal identity was that of a husband. When I started to transition and understand parts of myself better, that part of my self-identity became that of a wife to another woman.

It’s with family relationships where gender identity really makes itself known. Are you a brother or a sister? How about a son or daughter? If you have had children, you are a mother or a father. All these terms indicate a gender as well a family relationship. I suppose one could say the are a sibling of someone or a child or spouse or parent of another person but who really thinks this way.

There are another six associations listed on this webpage and, while they have nothing to do with gender identity they should be mentioned because they are a part of our personal identity.

Next are the quasi-occupations and they include helper and volunteer. I’ve done the volunteer thing and will do that again especially as the provincial election is coming up and I’ll certainly help with the campaigning in some form.

The next associations to talk about are avocations. These include athlete, musicians, artist, collector and here again are helper or volunteer. For myself I can state that I help host this radio show and I do so on a volunteer basis. When I introduce myself do I mention I do this? I admit that I do sometimes. I was an instructor in the Canadian military and I enjoyed it very much. To me this is a continuation on that theme. I do know that very few know much about transgender people and this is a method to get the word out.

What is ironic that I’m doing a show on transgender issues on a university radio station where most of the students really don’t think that being a transgender person is a problem in any way. To paraphrase Keith Olbermann, young people have this problem where they have an inability to do what older ones still can and that is to pretend that this matters anymore. Something to think about.

Next on the list is affiliations and this can mean things like being a Shriner or a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I’m a member of the Royal Canadian Legion but this really doesn’t fit into my personal identity other than the fact that I’m a veteran.

Then there are abilities or disabilities. Some examples are smart person, funny person, shy person with a disability, or patient. I consider myself to be a helpful person or a friendly person. Those are aspects of my personal identity. I also suffer from diabetes and have been diagnosed with heart disease, but I don’t include them with my sense of self. The only time I think of them is when I take my pills.

The last two associations are salient attributes and spirituality. Salient attributes include being reliable, hard working, good looking, lazy, or dishonest. Spiritually covers being a child of God, Christian, Chatholic, Buddist or Wiccan. I wouldn’t consider myself as reliable or hard working although others might. I consider myself to be Christian but not that type of Christian who would work to restrict the human rights of others.

As a person ages their personal identity will change. The biggest change in a sense of self seems to occur when a child starts going to school. At home they may be used to being called smart, strong, fast, etc. but find the opinion of others may be different. Maybe you are not as smart as your mother thinks you are and your sense of self may change as a result. We all grow and our sense of self changes as we do.

That’s it for this week. By the way, these are my notes for a radio show I do on transgender issues. I’ve been doing the show with another host for about a year and a half and a third host for about six months. It’s been a lot of fun and we hope we’re educating people about us.

Last month there were a number of news stories affecting the trans population in Canada and we’ll talk about them here. The first one we wish to talk about is about the CBC deciding not to air the BBC documentary “Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?” This is a nasty documentary that was talking about transgender children and if a child really knows what gender they are. It included some bad science to bring into question if the “gender-affirmative” approach to treating transgender children is really in the best interest of the child. This approach has become the standard for most of the free world.

The main speaker was Dr. Zucker whose techniques were considered outdated and may have bordered on reparative therapy which has been considered akin to torture. It’s use on minors is outlawed in Ontario by the Ontario Legislature Bill 77 – sponsored by Cheri DiNovo (who also speaks in the video) – and passed in 2015. The new law may have been one of the reasons why Dr. Zucker was fired. It must be pointed out that there isn’t any evidence that Dr. Zucker did or did not recommend anything like reparative therapy. He claims to practice developmentally informed therapy, but we have no idea what this means.

There are three general techniques to treating transgender children and they are the “gender-affirmative” approach, wait and see, and reparative therapy. There has been a lot of success with the first method. With the first method children are allowed to express their gender identity and this includes a name change, changes with the use of pronouns, changes to clothing and hair style. The positive change in the mood of the child is usually dramatic when they are supported in this manner.

We’ve talked about reparative therapy but what about the wait and see? It’s not as restrictive as reparative therapy but it’s not much better because it still contains a denial of the child’s gender identity. They may be allowed to express themselves at home, but it’s not well supported and usually not allowed outside. Just a note that the suicide attempt rates drop significantly in homes where the transgender child is supported so that’s certainly something to think about.

Another speaker was Dr Blanchard who was another doctor whose pet theory of autogynephilia was discredited. This wasn’t mentioned, of course. So, we have a couple of discredited doctors trying to tell us that children really don’t know who they really are.

What is autogynephilia? It’s Dr. Blanchard’s theory that those transgender people who would have been considered gay before transitioning had a valid reason for the gender reassignment surgery and those who were straight before transitioning were really not transgender and only wanted to transition because they had sexual fantasies of becoming a woman. As Dr. Blanchard was the head of the former Clarke Institute, what became the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, it meant that 95 percent of those applying for gender reassignment surgery were denied during his reign.

If you can find a copy of the video the first time you watch it you’ll think that it presents a balanced argument. It actually is … for the first 28 minutes. After that it’s almost all about how children really don’t know their gender if it’s different from the one normally associated with their sex assigned at birth.

One of the arguments was from one scientist who states that brain scans show there is no difference between the male and female brain in babies. A quick Google search tells me there really isn’t much difference at that age. The biggest difference is the brain size, where the brain of males tend to be 10% larger, but that doesn’t mean much when talking about gender identity or intelligence. The larger brain doesn’t make males any smarter. Anyway, this information is irrelevant as the child needs to be above the age of 13 before any differences are noticeable. Even then it’s more the wiring of the brain that makes women different from men.

One of the claims by doctors such as Zucker is, for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria, 80% will grow out of it. Some of this is based on bad information but is confirmed by Dr. Zucker’s own experience. You would think that a doctor of his experience would be able to tell if a child really had gender dysphoria. Maybe not. There is the problem that children have a harder time communicating their feelings than adults so there may be misdiagnosis as a result.

The other problem is the terminology used in the video. Throughout the show the term gender dysphoria is used but, for most of Dr. Zucker’s experience working with children the diagnosis in use for most of that time was called gender identity disorder. The two terms can be used interchangeably but they are not exactly the same. With GID, there were 5 possible symptoms of which 4 must be present. Of the 5 symptoms there is some argument that only one was where the child actually wants to change gender. The other four possible symptoms could apply to gender non-conforming children who had or didn’t have a problem with their gender identity. We believe you can see right there where the chance of misdiagnosis was possible.

With the newer diagnosis of gender dysphoria there is a list of eight possible symptoms where six must match the patient. The five symptoms from the previous GID are present with a few more. There is also a requirement that the first one must be present and that is the one where the child wants to change their gender. This should help reduce the chances of a misdiagnosis.

In summary, the program is filled with bad science and is definitely geared to convince parents to deny their transgender children the therapy and support they need. In fact, after this show aired in the UK there were a number of trans children and families with trans children who have found their supportive environment disappear overnight, directly linked to this documentary. Some parents became reluctant to support their child’s with their transition – some to the point they were pondering whether to discontinue appointments. Some families who stayed the course encountered hostility from other family members or those in their communities for being seen to give way to their children’s wishes.

Another story we’d like to talk about is actually a little old as it was published in November of 2017. One of the problems with the conventional bottom surgery for trans women is the end result may look like a cis woman’s vagina but it doesn’t act like one. Specifically, it doesn’t lubricate when the woman becomes sexually aroused.

Along comes Hayley, A Patient Gets the New Transgender Surgery She Helped Invent, who had another complaint in that the wait time after getting the surgery approved by her insurance. She fully prepared herself by doing considerable research online to educate herself on the process. To make what is known as a neo vagina, skin is removed from the penis and scrotum, inverted and inserted in the body. There are a number of problems with this technique that are minor but irritating.

In her research she found a technique, New laparoscopic peritoneal pull-through vaginoplasty technique, that was originally developed in Russia and modified by some doctors in India. It was used to repair damage for those cis women who were born with a rare condition that caused the vagina to develop abnormally or not at all. They used tissue from the peritoneum which is the lining of the abdominal and pelvic cavity walls. The technique was enormously successful with all the married women, and those who were married shortly after, who found no difficulty with intercourse after six to nine months. There were some reports that external lubrication was required before this time.

Hayley’s doctor has used the technique on transgender patients and it seems there was considerable success using it. Perhaps Dr Brassard in Montreal would consider using this technique if it is proven safe.

***

We talked about MPP Cheri DiNovo in the article about CBC pulling the Transgender Kids documentary. She is definitely a supporter of transgender rights. She presented a bill called Bill 169 – An Act to proclaim the Trans Day of Remembrance and it was signed into law last month. The act will officially make 20 November the Trans Day of Remembrance in the province of Ontario.

***

The Federation des Femmes du Quebec (Quebec Women’s Federation) was founded in 1966 to promote women’s issues, rights, and equality. Late in 2017 they elected Gabrielle Bouchard as its newest president. She’s a trans woman and had previously worked with Concordia University’s Centre for Gender Advocacy as a transgender advocate. She seems to be doing a good job so far but it seems she’s now the target of TERFs and that is sad

***

We don’t normally talk about news from the US but we think it important to mention that six days into the new year a trans woman has been murdered. Christa Leigh was an active transgender advocate, founding both Miss Trans America and Miss Trans New England. Last year there were at least 27 trans people killed in the US. The preliminary results of the autopsy indicate she died as the result of loss of blood and suffered a stab wound to her torso and blunt force trauma to her head.

***

We just learned a new term for a transgender identity and that’s demifluid. It fits with the terms demigirl and demiboy.

A demigirl (also called a demiwoman or a demifemale person) is a gender identity describing someone who partially, but not wholly, identifies as a woman, girl or otherwise feminine, regardless of their assigned sex at birth. They may or may not identify as another gender in addition to feeling partially a girl or woman.

A demiboy, (also called a demiguy or demimale person) is a gender identity describing someone who partially, but not wholly, identifies as a male, regardless of their assigned sex at birth. They may or may not identify as another gender in addition to feeling partially boy or man.

Demifluid or demigenderfluid is a gender identity for “someone whose gender is partially fluid (genderfluid) with the other part(s) being static; an example could be one part of their gender is ‘woman’ while the part that fluctuates is ‘man’ and ‘genderqueer’.”

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2018/01/10/news-from-december-2017/feed/0completeteresaIT’S BEEN A YEAR!!!https://completeteresa.com/2016/12/22/its-been-a-year/
https://completeteresa.com/2016/12/22/its-been-a-year/#respondThu, 22 Dec 2016 18:16:46 +0000http://completeteresa.wordpress.com/?p=1404Continue reading →]]>OMG! It’s been a year since I’ve posted anything here. I’ll have to get back in the habit of posting more often. I also have news! I have a radio show with one of the community radio stations here. It’s all about transgender issues and usually a live show. It’s all pre-records over Christmas as I’d like a break. The first show in January will be the last of the Fall Season and will complete my first season with the station.

I think the show will continue in the future as there seems to be a lot of subjects to talk about – more than what I thought in the beginning. It seems that some subjects can’t be fully covered in a half-hour show and some shows give me other ideas of other things to cover.

As for those pre-records, they are a set of three about transgender myths and misconceptions. I hate doing pre-records. They are not as easy as live shows but they do allow for the correction of some mistakes. If the show is live then what goes on during the show goes out over the air and any errors can ‘t be undone. One sad thing is we can’t do call-ins as we can’t have someone pre-clear the calls and sort out the oddballs. There are some nutcases out there as you can imagine. It comes with the territory.

So, for now I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Please don’t drink and drive over the holiday season and keep yourself safe.

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2016/12/22/its-been-a-year/feed/0completeteresaRob Ford endorses Stephen Harperhttps://completeteresa.com/2015/10/16/rob-ford-endorses-stephen-harper/
https://completeteresa.com/2015/10/16/rob-ford-endorses-stephen-harper/#respondFri, 16 Oct 2015 14:51:03 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1400Continue reading →]]>Rob Ford is known as a self admitting crack user, an alcoholic* and a definite homophobe has endorsed Harper. Except for being homophobic, a word that also describes the Prime Minister, Rob Ford represents what the Conservative Party’s view on drug abuse doesn’t. As the mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford was known as a joke around the world. Mr Harper, if this is the kind of person you want to endorse you then I can only pray that 19 October is your last day as the Prime Minister of Canada.

Teresa

* To be honest I haven’t heard any more Rob Ford drinking stories since he obtained therapy but that may be due to the fact that he’s no longer mayor of Toronto and not covered as much by the media.

I had to add this comment: Dong Ford when questioned by his support of Harped went on a tirade of Justin Trudeau and I really don’t think he understood what he was saying. He said that if Justin tried to get a job at a company he would be considered fit to sweep the floors. Think about it, if Doug considers an educated, intelligent man only fit to sweep the floors what does that mean about his supporters in Toronto. Many of them do not have the education that Justin has. What does he really consider their abilities to be? Where would they fit into this company he has imagined?

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2015/10/16/rob-ford-endorses-stephen-harper/feed/0completeteresaGirls Scouts of the USAhttps://completeteresa.com/2015/05/21/girls-scouts-of-the-usa/
https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/21/girls-scouts-of-the-usa/#respondFri, 22 May 2015 02:14:46 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1395Continue reading →]]>The haters have struck again but this time against the cute girl scouts who ruin our diets with their girl scout cookies. Okay, they do more than that and you really should check out there website to hear more and it’s all good, really.

The part of their website I’m referring to this time has to do with taking in transgender girls and entitled The Meaning of “Serving All Girls” . It’s quite amazing actually. The main points are summed up in the following paragraph:

If a girl is recognized by her family, school and community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe. Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case by case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority.

There’s this group called The American Family Association who attack anyone who is pro-LGBT and are called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hate groups used to be defined as groups who used outright lies to attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics. The SPLC took out the lie part although the American Family Association certainly continues to do this. Just look at what they say in the article Girl Scouts Welcome Boys Who Dress as Girls:

This means girls in the organization will be forced to recognize and accept transgenderism as a normal lifestyle. Boys in skirts, boys in make-up and boys in tents will become a part of the program. This change will put young innocent girls at risk.

Listen. We live in a world where trans children are finding it easier to give up on life rather than deal with the craziness of a world which seems out to get them at every turn. We need to open up more inclusive spaces for them, not shut them out. If the Girl Scouts of America are trying to be inclusive of more girls, then so be it.

We don’t need hate groups to attack children who were born the wrong sex. The girls need our help and the American Family Association should be ashamed. However, I bet they sleep just fine at night smug in the fact that they attacked such children because the LGBT are evil. Bullchit!!!

Live long and prosper,

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/21/girls-scouts-of-the-usa/feed/0completeteresaBigotry Commenthttps://completeteresa.com/2015/05/15/bigotry-comment/
https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/15/bigotry-comment/#respondFri, 15 May 2015 13:03:03 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1389Continue reading →]]>I not only read articles but, by the magic of the internet, I read some of the comments too. This one was to an article in Pink News “Girl Scouts under fire for allowing transgender girls to join” and I really liked it so I’m repeating it here.

…

Julian Morrison

Science says one thing, you say another. Guess why? Because you learnt a bunch of things as a kid and you hang onto them as “facts of reality” rather than theories subject to being examined against evidence. And you are determined to keep them because you built your identity on them. When trans people threaten that identity, it drives you to lash out at trans people to beat back the dissonance inside your own head.

This is what being a bigot feels like. A bigot always feels attacked by their victim. A racist feels under siege by black people. A misogynist feels that women want to emasculate him. A transphobe feels that trans people want to invade female spaces for some unspecified evil reason.

…

I don’t know how true this is but it does sound good. Is it really that simple though. After a quick Google I found this article “Bigotry, Ignorance and Fear” which is also an interesting read.

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/15/bigotry-comment/feed/0completeteresaEdmonton Catholic School Bans 7 Year Old From Girls’ Washroomhttps://completeteresa.com/2015/05/14/edmonton-catholic-school-bans-7-year-old-from-girls-washroom/
https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/14/edmonton-catholic-school-bans-7-year-old-from-girls-washroom/#commentsThu, 14 May 2015 17:53:27 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1380Continue reading →]]>I tried to post a comment in response to an article, “Edmonton Catholic school bans transgender child, 7, from girls’ washroom“, I read on CBC News but their moderator rejected it. I guess they didn’t like what I said about the Roman Catholic Church. Too bad. So I posted a second comment instead. If I have something to say I will say it and the CBC can get stuffed.

…

First Comment

The Roman Catholic Church is not really a religious organization but a political one. Leaders within the church are more interested in power and promotion than looking after the flock. To get promoted they must show hatred toward anyone who does not conform to their ideals and this is obviously contrary to the teachings of Christ. It was worse in the time of Martin Luther and his reaction was, in part, the cause of the protestant reformation. As you can see, this attitude of the RC Church hasn’t really changed much. They ignore medical science, yet again, and deny that transsexuality is a medical condition. A child who appears to be born male will always be male regardless of what competent medical personal may determine. The fact that this girl’s medically diagnosed conflict is denied by the RC Church should not be a huge surprise but be expected. I do not include everyone who belongs to the Roman Catholic Church as many, maybe most, understand the plight of those born transsex or who are otherwise gender variant. It’s the leadership who seem to be at odds with the rest. I just hope the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal can act with greater speed in this case.

…

Second and approved comment

First of all I am a woman born transsex (woman born with the wrong parts) and transitioned later in life. As a youth I was constantly bullied and thank God that cell phones and the internet did not exist then to prolong my torment after school and on weekends. As I didn’t transition while at school I don’t know the effects bullying would have on such a girl but I am sure that it’s not good.

But to have someone who you trusted be the bully is especially harmful. This school is bullying this poor girl by saying she’s not real, a sinner and someone outside society. They do this by making her use an “other” washroom. The article states that the child has been diagnosed as having gender dysphoria yet this diagnosis was ignored by the school. It’s another case of religion versus science and this should not be a huge surprise to anyone who has read the history of this church.

I do know that children as young as 2 have expressed a difficulty with the sex they were being brought up as and it usually becomes clearer from the ages 4 to 8. 7 years old certainly fits within this age range. There are cases where this belief that they are the wrong sex will change as they get older, and it’s good that it does, but many times it doesn’t. This is one reason why the operation is not usually available until the person reaches the age of 18. However, what is wrong with allowing the child to reach this conclusion naturally? What is wrong with a girl using the girl’s washroom even though she has a penis? It’s not like a 7 year old could do anything with it other than pee!

There are other comments to the effect that a boy is a boy and will always be a boy. Who decides who is a boy and who isn’t? As I’ve said in reply to some comments – sometimes a girl has a penis too.

…

They also had a limit on the length of my statement or I would have said more. Have a good day.

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2015/05/14/edmonton-catholic-school-bans-7-year-old-from-girls-washroom/feed/4completeteresaChelsea Manning Isn’t Getting Treatmenthttps://completeteresa.com/2014/08/24/chelsea-manning-isnt-getting-treatment/
https://completeteresa.com/2014/08/24/chelsea-manning-isnt-getting-treatment/#commentsSun, 24 Aug 2014 15:34:09 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1374Continue reading →]]>I love reading the articles on The Advocate or more specifically, advocate.com. The one article about Chelsea Manning’s medical care, or lack off, is disturbing but the comments to it are more so. One person, who identifies himself as Jim Johnson, is wondering why such treatment should be supplied to someone in prison who is being punished for an offence should get this treatment when it’s not free for those who need it and have not been incarcerated. I was typing up a reply and it started to get lengthy and I haven’t posted in here in like forever so here it is.

Jim, you hit on a very important point – doctors deem the treatment as medically necessary but the government does not. Who should have the say when it comes to funds for any medically required treatment? Should it be the medical profession or the politicians? Those who do have the money, either out of their own pocket or from insurance companies, do get it done but those who don’t have the money are stuck. It’s one of the reasons why there is a high suicide rate for those born transsex and why it is considered necessary. Even if they are stronger and do not take such drastic action many are still going to live a life of torment until such treatments are complete.

If you view this as an elective surgery like a facelift then you are right that the funding for prisoners on the public dime should be denied. But if you view it as necessary, as the medical professionals do, then she should have the treatments paid for. Under the rules now in place the Army cannot treat her because transsexuality is grounds for release and they can’t release her until she’s completed her sentence. They also can’t treat her because this would create a precedent which could be used by those still serving. Until the rules change regarding transsexuality in the uniform, I can’t see anything changing in Chelsea’s case.

Apparently the US military can’t function with those born transsex serving. That’s sad because they can serve openly in other countries in the world. I’m Canadian, transitioned while serving, and about to retire from the RCAF after serving for 36 years. There is nothing wrong for men or women born transsex serving except in the minds of bigots who oppose it.

My two cents,

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2014/08/24/chelsea-manning-isnt-getting-treatment/feed/2completeteresaMichFesthttps://completeteresa.com/2014/05/17/michfest/
https://completeteresa.com/2014/05/17/michfest/#commentsSun, 18 May 2014 00:55:53 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1372Continue reading →]]>I’ve heard a lot about MichFest and none of it good. However, most of the articles I’ve read are pertaining to the discrimination of woman born transex by this event. Very simply we’re not allowed to attend yet the event is open to all womyn. The official title is the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and this year runs from August 5th to the 10th.

If you check out the website it’s more than a music festival. They have a number of workshops which appear to be very informative. The event is one that every woman should have the opportunity to attend and by that I do mean EVERY woman. The website, by-the-way, makes no mention of it discriminatory practices. The comments to the article “Michfest Urges Attendees to Rally Behind Its Performers” seem to come in two classes – women born transsex are really men or women born transsex have lived as males and have experienced male privilege. The first ignores the scientific evidence that some who were born appearing male have been born with physical characteristics within the brain that are female. The other ignores the fact that male privilege is meaningless to someone who has to live a life as someone they are not and the internal turmoil is so intense that a significant percentage have attempted suicide. Thankfully this percentage is dropping as treatment and surgery becomes more available.

One thing I have noticed as I’ve transitioned and now completely live my life as a woman is that most women who haven’t had this experience are perfectly accepting of those of us who have come to womanhood by this route. They sympathize with us over what we had to endure to get to where we are and can understand the struggle we’ve had to undergo. I doubt the majority of the women who attend the MichFest event feel any different from the women I’ve just described. I doubt it’s even a significant percentage who show this hatred towards women born transsex. In the feminist community there is a very small group known as RadFem who have this attitude towards women born transsex. They are VERY vocal! They are of the first category where they deny that we are female. They will also use the argument that we’ve experienced male privilege as well but it’s more a secondary argument.

Why am I writing this post? I don’t know. Many women born transsex already know about MichFest and its bigoted policies. Maybe some who reached womanhood the way the majority of women have could understand the bigoted underside of what MichFest is about and maybe add their voices to ours. It seems like a really fun event so I won’t say the word boycott because you’d only be hurting yourself. Oh, when it comes to entertainment groups such as the bands who have decided to pull out, please continue to avoid this event. You don’t want to tarnish your good name. Those who haven’t pulled out might want to think about it. Consider this, recently someone was appointed CEO of Mozilla and had to resign became he once made a donation to the organizers of Prop 8. What could the repercussions be to a group/person who entertained at a bigoted event like MichFest be? Think about it.

Teresa

]]>https://completeteresa.com/2014/05/17/michfest/feed/1completeteresaFreedom of Speech in Reginahttps://completeteresa.com/2014/04/23/freedom-of-speech-in-regina/
https://completeteresa.com/2014/04/23/freedom-of-speech-in-regina/#respondWed, 23 Apr 2014 15:49:31 +0000http://completeteresa.com/?p=1354Continue reading →]]>I was reading an opinion piece by Brian Lilly entitled “Freedom of Speech Going Out of Fashion” and had a few problems with it. In it he talks about two homophobic bigots who were being denied the ‘right’ to spewing their drivel at the University of Regina. When I was reading this column I was reminded of some churches and self-proclaimed ‘Christian’ individuals in the US who had claimed the freedom of religion to discriminate on LGBT people.

William Whatcott and Peter LaBarbera went on to the University of Regina campus to hand out “literature detailing what they call “the dangers of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender relationships.” I have no idea what was contained within this but the title, at least to me, seems to indicate that any LGBT student would feel harassed to say the least. In the Regina Leader Post article “Whatcott, LaBarbera arrested on U of R campus (with video)” the university’s provost and vice-president and academic, Thomas Chase, stated “The materials were graphic and the materials were disturbing,”

William Whatcott had been there before so was well known to the University. In a release to the media they stated “All guests are welcome to our campus. However, we ask that they accord themselves in a respectful fashion. Distribution of flyers and pamphlets that attack people for their ethnicity, race or sexual orientation compromise the respectful dialogue we expect on campus and are not acceptable.”

Both individuals were arrested and charged with mischief. While this charge has different definitions the one under the Criminal Code of Canada section 430 (1) (c) where ”Every one commits mischief who wilfully obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property” seems to be the most applicable.

To get back to Brian Lilly’s column he made it sound like the moment the two showed up they were asked to leave and the cops immediately showed up to arrest them. The Regina Leader Post article indicates it took somewhere around two hours. Mr Lilly made reference to the freedom of expression provision in section two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He might want to have a look at Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code:

14 (1) No person shall publish or display, or cause or permit to be published or displayed, on any lands or premises or in a newspaper, through a television or radio broadcasting station or any other broadcasting device, or in any printed matter or publication or by means of any other medium that the person owns, controls, distributes or sells, any representation, including any notice, sign, symbol, emblem, article, statement or other representation:

(a) tending or likely to tend to deprive, abridge or otherwise restrict the enjoyment by any person or class of persons, on the basis of a prohibited ground, of any right to which that person or class of persons is entitled under law; or

(b) that exposes or tends to expose to hatred, ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of any person or class of persons on the basis of a prohibited ground.

That, in my mind, adds an interesting twist to the story. But were their rights to free expression violated? They were quite welcome to voice their opinion at another location but not there. The university was quite clear that they were not welcome and, rightfully, called the police when they refused to leave. The university had a responsibility to protect their LGBT students, under the Human Rights Code of this province, from harassment from this pair. i believe they did what they had to do.

As for the sticks and stones statement I can’t believe Lilly would stoop so low. Obviously words can be quite painful and have killed on numerous times in recent history. Just read up on cyber-bullying.